Dylan Larkin sat down in front of reporters on Thursday for the first time since his trade request became public in June. He talked for a while. He didn’t answer the question everyone actually wanted answered.
The situation in Detroit has been in limbo all summer. Larkin’s camp made the request in early June, roughly a month before Steve Yzerman stepped down as general manager, and the Detroit Red Wings didn’t name a replacement until Shawn Horcoff was installed as interim GM on September 15.
Dylan Larkin speaks
Larkin no longer wears the ‘C’ – in fact, the team confirmed it will open the season without a captain at all – and an upper-body injury picked up in the gym kept him off the ice for the first practice of camp. So the obvious question came first: what triggered the request?
“There’s a lot there, a lot of personal stuff in that, and to be honest with you guys, I’m not ready to go there yet,” Larkin said, per WXYZ Detroit. “It wasn’t easy to get to that decision, it was very hard. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. I don’t take what I did lightly, and I got to that point and I’m not quite ready to talk about it.”
Asked the follow-up – whether the request still stands – he wouldn’t go there either, saying that like Horcoff the day before, he intends to keep it between himself and the organization.
Larkin on Yzerman
Larkin did shut down two theories that have been circulating. He dismissed reports that he had submitted a list of acceptable destinations, first said to include three teams and later five, saying those stories simply weren’t true. He also rejected the idea that being part of the Olympic gold medal team had anything to do with it, calling the timing a coincidence.
Larkin was also asked about his relationship with Yzerman, and there he had considerably more to say.
“When it’s game night, we go out and play, he watches and evaluates and that’s his job. We both do our jobs, and in any organization, competitive people are going to have differences,” Larkin said. “I think that’s what makes him great. He’s a competitive person and he pushes for success and I respect that a ton. I think I’ve learned a ton from him in terms of leadership, and I thank him for that time.”
Larkin on the ‘C’
On losing the captaincy, Larkin didn’t push back at all.
“I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings as the captain and, you know, actions have consequences,” he said, adding that the decision was discussed with the organization and that he understands it.
He also said he has spoken with his teammates and told them the request had nothing to do with them, and that people approaching him around town have been kind about it.
“I’m excited to get back on the ice and earn my teammates’ trust back on the ice, where I believe it matters the most,” Larkin said.
READ MORE: Moritz Seider addresses Dylan Larkin’s trade request
Horcoff, for his part, gave no indication of a resolution either way.
“We’ve had good talks with Dylan. We’re understanding of where he’s come from, and we’re gonna take this day by day,” Horcoff said. “We’re going to see where this goes.”
Larkin is 30, a Michigan native, and has spent his entire career in Detroit since being drafted 15th overall in 2014. He has five seasons left on the eight-year, $69.6 million contract he signed in 2023, carrying an $8.7 million cap hit through 2031 along with a no-movement clause. Owner Chris Ilitch said this week that the club may well keep him for the full season. Detroit opens its preseason schedule in Columbus on Monday.
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